TRANSCRIPT: ABC News/Facebook/WMUR Republicans Debate

Jan. 5, 2008

Page 10 of 36

And the critical thing here is for us to stand together and to
say, "I think we do agree with the troop surge. We believe that the
troops surge is going to make an enormous difference for the world and
protect us from the establishment of safe havens from which Al Qaida
could launch attacks against us."

GIBSON: Very quickly.

PAUL: There's always a radical element in almost all religions.
They have to have an incentive. We give them that incentive.

The question that you don't -- aren't willing to ask is, why is
it that they attack America? I mean, they don't attack the Canadians.
They don't attack the Swiss. If it were merely because they wanted to
go into Europe, why do they...

(CROSSTALK)
ROMNEY: Is it such a puzzle?

ROMNEY: Is it such a mystery as to why they attack America?

PAUL: It is...

ROMNEY: They're not going after Luxembourg.

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: It is because we've gone six...

GIULIANI: Ron, Ron...

ROMNEY: We're the strongest nation in the world.

PAUL: We have...

GIULIANI: Ron, it's simply not true.

Islamic terrorists killed over 500 Americans before September 11,
2001, going back to the late 1960s. They have also killed people
recently in Bali, in London. They have launched attacks in Germany.

(UNKNOWN): Madrid.

GIULIANI: Where did the attack on the Munich Olympics take
place: in the United States, or did it take place in Germany?

GIBSON: All right. Let me stop this...

GIULIANI: I could go on and on. The attack on Leon Klinghoffer.

Islamic terrorists have attacked us...

PAUL: You paint all Islamics...

GIULIANI: ... and our allies all over the world...

PAUL: ... the same way, and this is a dangerous thing...

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY: No, of course not.

GIBSON: Gentlemen...

PAUL: What you're doing is damaging our relationship by
destroying our relationship with all Muslims. That's what you're
doing.

GIULIANI: I do not.

(CROSSTALK)

THOMPSON: Charlie, you started it.

(LAUGHTER)

GIBSON: I did start it. Yes, I did.

GIULIANI: Charlie, you wanted a free-for-all.

It is important to make this point. Just the opposite, Ron. I
have great respect for the Islamic religion. I have great respect for
the Arab world, for the Middle East.

I think we should be closer to them. I think we should trade
more with them. I think we should have cultural exchanges with them.

The overwhelming majority of the Islamic world...

PAUL: Why do we support their dictators, then? Why do we prop
up all their dictators?

GIBSON: (inaudible)

GIULIANI: ... and on the evening of September 11, 2001, the day
my city was attacked, I got on television, and I said to the people of
my city, "We're not going to engage in group blame. This is a small
group of people. This does not typify a great religion and a great
people."

GIULIANI: I do not accept that criticism.

(CROSSTALK)

GIBSON: I'm going to move on to domestic policy. And I'm going
to violate a promise that I made to all of your campaigns.

I promised that we wouldn't do any questions on video tape,
questions from somebody outside this room. But I'm going to violate
it with a question from the president of the United States, who posed
a question that I think is important about all of you, posed a
question at his last news conference about what he thought candidates
ought to be as they ran.